Spinnerets are useful to extrude fibers of different types. Genetically modified proteins are now being developed with the goal of producing artificial silk fibers. The formation of artificial silk fibers on a large scale presents many problems which have not yet been solved.
The present invention provides a micromachined spinneret which has applications for the extrusion of fibers from different types of fiber-forming materials including artificial silk, and which provides a capability for co-extrusion of a coating upon the extruded fiber, with the coating including one or more specialized proteins, antibodies, fluorophores, quantum dots or other materials (e.g. carbon nanotubes). Alternately, the micromachined spinneret of the present invention can be used to extrude a fiber while surrounding the extruded fiber with a dispensed fluid to assist in drying or crystallization of the extruded fiber.
Embodiments of the micromachined spinneret of the present invention can also include a heating element surrounding an orifice therein to heat a fiber-forming material immediately prior to extrusion thereof, or a pair of spaced-apart electrodes surrounding the orifice to provide an electrical field across the fiber during extrusion, or both.
Embodiments of the micromachined spinneret of the present invention are also provided to extrude single fibers, or to extrude a plurality of fibers.
These and other advantages of the present invention will become evident to those skilled in the art.